Mathew Withau vs. Kagona Ameko
Mathew Withau vs. Kagona Ameko is a battle that takes place during the Mission to Retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. It is a battle between Hidden Leaf chunin Mathew Withau, with Kakashi Hatake intervening as support, and Hidden Sound jonin Kagona Ameko. Prelude Following Matt's intervention with Naruto's fight with Mikuro Otoma in which Matt saved Naruto's life, Matt faces Kagona Ameko, and Matt asks him if he is ready to finish it. Battle Kagona complies, making hand signs and firing off a Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu at Matt. Matt evades the attack and returns fire with Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, however Kagona escapes into the air. Kagona uses the Fire Style: Dragon's Shotgun against Matt, who is ill-prepared for them and is hit head-on. Kagona lands on the ground to see if Matt is still alive, and Matt charges him with a kunai. Kagona blocks Matt's attack with a kunai of his own and jumps into the air, where Matt throws his kunai at him. Kagona blocks the knife with his own, and Matt fires a Fireball Jutsu at him. Kagona dives to the ground to avoid the jutsu, and he lands on the ground and attacks Matt. Matt blocks Kagona's punch, but Kagona gets around his guard and beats him repeatedly, hitting Matt multiple times before knocking him to the ground. Matt discerns that Kagona had been holding back when teamed with Igani, and then realizes that he is still holding back. Matt tells asks Kagona if he is going to keep holding back, and Kagona states that if he uses his full power, Matt would be dead in an instant. Matt says that they will see, and he fires a Fire Style: Ember Shot at Kagona. Kagona dodges the initial fireball, jumping into the exact spot where the secondary fireballs that spawn off the first won't hit him, and he reminds Matt that he is a Fire Style expert. He claims to have knowledge of every Fire Style jutsu in existence, as well as being able to perform many of them. Matt inquires Kagona of his history, and Kagona explains that he was once a jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and Matt recalls the name, remembering him to be a shinobi who was in consideration for the Fourth Hokage. When Kagona didn't receive the position, he left the Hidden Leaf in anger to pursue greatness in another village. Kagona confirms this, berating the Third Hokage for picking Minato Namikaze to be the Fourth over him. He admits that Minato was a powerful shinobi, possibly more so than even Kagona, but that he didn't have what it takes to be Hokage. Kagona accuses Minato of caring only about protecting the village and its inhabitants. He states his belief that running a village is about using power to crush all oppression. He accuses the Third Hokage of being the same way, and states that it is no wonder that Orochimaru was able to sneak an army of Hidden Sand and Sound shinobi to attack the Leaf. Matt asks Kagona if he wonders why he wasn't picked, and Kagona asks him what he knows about it. Matt admits to not having been a shinobi for long and not knowing about the finer aspects of being a Shinobi, but he says that kindness and caring is required to run any form of government, otherwise the institution will fall apart. He claims that this is why Kagona wasn't picked, as Minato had what it took to be Hokage, unlike him. Kagona refers to this as the Will of Fire, and Matt, who doesn't truly understand what this is, tentatively agrees. The two then agree to continue fighting, and they both fire the Fireball Jutsu at each other. The techniques meet in the air, each fighting for control over the other, but Kagona's quickly gains dominance. Seeing that the fight is a lost cause, Matt cancels his Fireball Jutsu and jumps into the air, letting the Fireballs crash into the ground while Kagona appears behind him and attacks with Fire Style: Dragon Saber. Matt fights him off in the air, but Kagona overpowers him and knocks him into the ground. Kagona lands on the ground while Matt gets back to his feet, and with his Dragon Saber still primed, Kagona charges Matt. Matt forms a Rasengan and meets Kagona's jutsu, and the impact of their jutsu destroys the area around them. As they battle with their techniques, Matt forms a second Rasengan to make the Dual Rasengan, and he hits Kagona directly with this, sending him flying away. As an injured Kagona rises back to his feet, he tells Matt that he is not defeated yet, and he fires another Dragon's Shotgun at Matt. Matt avoid the jutsu this time, but Kagona uses the Fire Style Ninja Art: Heat Seeker Jutsu to cause the Dragon's Shotgun to home in on Matt. Matt, who is in the air, is unable to dodge and is hit directly, igniting his clothing ablaze as he crashes to the ground. Matt tears his burning shirt off as Kagona charges him with a Dragon Saber, and while Matt manages to avoid the initial strike, Kagona continues to attack. Matt conjures a single Shadow Clone to take the hit, allowing him to escape unharmed. Matt escapes into the forest and ponders rather Kagona is worthy of being Hokage, but is brought back to reality as Kagona fires a Phoenix Flower Jutsu at him. Matt escapes as the tree he had been residing in is destroyed. As he lands on the ground Kagona attacks him with a kunai, and with Matt not having any more weapons, he is forced to simply dodge. Matt successfully evades Kagona's strikes, and he gains some distance before using the Chidori. Matt charges, and Kagona meets his jutsu with a Dragon Saber. The two techniques clash, sending embers and electricity that ignites trees around them, and as they fight, their jutsu explode, blasting them both back. Matt is knocked a hundred feet back and is barely conscious, but he wakes himself up just as Kagona dives down at him with a Dragon Saber. Kakashi then intervenes, hitting Kagona with a Lightning Blade, killing him and leaving Matt safe. Aftermath Kagona crashes to the ground, and Kakashi asks Matt if he is okay, to which Matt confirms, stating that he had the situation covered. Kakashi helps him to his feet as Naruto and Sakura arrive on the scene. At that moment, Katsuna Huromishe comes forth, facing Team Kakashi and expressing amazement that all of his teammates were defeated. As he states that he will not fall so easily, he and Team Kakashi prepare for battle. Category:Battle